Sada Aksartova, a visiting Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Global Studies, held a lecture on US foreign aid to Post-Soviet NGOs, using a sociological framework. While current and past research trends emphasize output-orientied models, she employed an organizational perspective in order to explain the process character of foreign assistance in states of the former Soviet Union. In her view, up to date, only little attention has been paid to the interaction between the different actors and institutions of this allegedly development-fostering enterprise. With this approach, she seeks to highlight implications and problems of US democracy promotion in the region. Her Lecture drew scholars and students from Political Science, Global Affairs and the Central Asian Studies program from George Mason University, providing grounds for a lively discussion.